


Don't Be Afraid of Rainless Nights

by Checklatechippancakes



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Angst, Arc-V Angst Week, Crow is a good dad, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, furio sucks and I will move shingo out of that situation best as I can, implied guardianshipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 14:57:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16065524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Checklatechippancakes/pseuds/Checklatechippancakes
Summary: Shingo shows up in Synchro one rainy night. Crow quickly realizes why he's here.





	Don't Be Afraid of Rainless Nights

**Author's Note:**

> Arc V Angst Week. Day 7: home

The revolution was over. The interdimensional war was over. No more time was wasted on fighting, just repairing. Mending fences, real and figurative. Crow slept peacefully, holding his husband tight, nestled into his hair. The rain poured over Synchro, the beat no longer like the drums of war.

A loud knock at the door woke him up. He blinked in the darkness, turning and figuring Shinji was in too deep a sleep to notice. Crow pulled himself up, exiting the bedroom, rubbing at his eyes. He flipped the lights on, squinting as he adjusted to the light. Visitors at night weren’t uncommon. In fact, Sector Security just  _ loved  _ to oppress the Commons by having ‘mandatory checks’ late at night to keep them from their sleep. Someone too tired to protest couldn’t fight back. But since Sector Security dismantled, it couldn’t be them. “Hello?” Crow asked, opening the door, the door chain preventing any entry.

His eyes simply laid on a shivering, sopping wet Sawatari. His wet bangs hung lower than usual, covering most of his face.

“Shit, one sec.” He closed the door, fully unlocking it. He opened it back up, ushering him inside. “Sawatari! What’s wrong? You’re going to catch a cold! Why are you out here so late?”

Shingo just shivered, already forming a puddle on the hardwood floor. “S-sorry,” he whispered, shivering, teeth chattering.

Crow sighed. “I’ll get you something to change into. We can talk about this over tea.” He headed back to their room, pulling a top and pant pair at random. Too dark to see anything, and he didn’t feel the need to wake Shinji up. After that was situated, he stopped at the bathroom, bringing back a towel. “Here. I’ll make ginger tea, if that’s okay.”

Wordlessly, Shingo nodded, his hair still heavy and dripping. He was… never this quiet. Shingo would occasionally visit, primarily the day, chatting it up with Crow and occasionally Shinji. Offhandedly, Shingo would subtly mention how unfortunate his home life was, but deny any more information when Crow pressed on. Crow felt it right to give him his privacy. That was the only way to create trust.

Hearing no more clothes rustle, Crow took it that he was done changing. He turned, holding both mugs. As predicted, Shingo was just running through his hair with the towel. “You want me to get a scrunchie for your hair?” Shingo pulled the towel away from him to speak, showing off his blackened eye.

The only noise was the sound of two mugs shattering to the ground.

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll buy you new mugs…” Shingo squeaked out, placing towels onto the spill.

“It’s not your fault.” Crow picked up the big shards, tossing them in the trash. “None of this is your fault. Does it hurt? How bad. Tell me.”

Shingo shook his head. “Not… that bad. Why?”

Crow stared directly into Shingo’s one functioning eye as he spook. “ _ So I know how many ribs of his I have to break _ .”

“Don’t kill my dad Crow,” Shingo begged. “I won’t inherit anything until I’m an adult.”

“Fucker has four years then. I’ll be sure to add it to my planner.” Shingo rolled his eye, the two standing up. “Sit. I’ll get you ice.” He did as told, wincing as the ice pack was pressed to his bad eye. “What happened.”

“My… dad is an angry drunk. He just… doesn’t think.” Crow nodded, brushing his hair away from the bag. “He sometimes hits me, but it’s usually when he’s drunk.”

Crow’s eyes narrowed. “ _ Usually _ means _ not exclusively _ . He’s doing this on purpose as well then. He’s abusing you, Sawatari.”

Shingo’s other eye closed. “My dad… is a good person though-”

“He’s not!” Crow shouted, Shingo tensing. “He’s not your dad if he treats you like that! He could be the biggest philanthropist in the world, but the second he lays a  _ finger  _ on you, he’s worse than scum!” He looked to Shingo’s stressed face, his own relaxing. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Shingo took control of the ice pack, letting Crow stand up.

“Do you have any more bruises? Are you bleeding?” Crow’s eyes scanned Shingo’s visible skin, not finding any scars or marks.

“I’m fine,” Shingo replied with a shake of his head. “It was just my eye.” He mumbled something under his breath, Crow’s face stained with hurt.

“Crow?” A voice from the hall called. Must be Shinji. “Are you having a midnight snack without me?” He entered the kitchen, glancing back and forth between Shingo and Crow, getting madder with each look. “I’ll break their fucking spine. Who did it.”

“Shinji…” both responded, each putting a defensive hand up.

“I’m serious! He’s just a kid! He shouldn’t have to go through this shit like we did!” He walked over to the two, noting the small fragments of broken ceramic on the floor. “What happened.”

Seeing Shingo not answer, Crow took over. “His dad hit him in a drunken rage.” Shingo nodded.

“His dad?” Shinji asked, Shingo looking down at the floor. “Your calmness and shame makes me feel like this isn’t the  _ first  _ time this happened.” Shinji’s glare sharpened, seeing Shingo nod once more. His hand raked up over his face, digging into his scalp. “Great. Just fucking great.” He got up, walking from the table. “I’ll fix up the couch. Sleep here tonight. We can deal with the rest tomorrow. I’ve caused enough shit by acting first and thinking later.”

He went off, Crow turning to Shingo. “Is the swelling going down?” Shingo nodded. Crow hated to admit it, but he kind of missed the overly chatty Shingo. Of course, just about  _ anything  _ would be better than this. “That’s good. I swear, Shinji means well, even if he comes off a little strong.”

“I know,” Shingo replied, rubbing at his good eye.

The sudden voice turned them to the living room. “Couch is ready.”

“Thank you Shinji,” Shingo whispered. “Thank you Crow, too.”

Crow smiled best he could in the situation. “It’s the least we could do.” While a little mean, Crow couldn’t help but snicker at the sight of Shingo in Shinji’s already-large-on-Crow sleep shirt. It was short sleeved, already drooping on Shingo’s shoulder. The print was a picture of a bee with “Bee Happy” printed on it. They could only try to at this point.

Shingo climbed onto the couch, pulling the blanket up to his nose. “Wait, one sec.” Shingo untucked himself, sitting up and watching as Crow ran off to his bedroom, coming back with a small toy in his hands. “Okay, not sure if you’re the stuffed animal type, but here.” He handed Shingo a small plush toy of Gale the Whirlwind. “It’s just… he always make me feel better. It’s okay if you don’t like it.”

He stared at the toy in front of him, pulling it to his chest, breathing in deeply. His eyes shut, curling deeper in the couch. “Thanks. Night, dad.”


End file.
